“What does he want now?” There was no missing the disgust in Doc’s voice.
“He’s pissed at me because he didn’t get that promotion. You know, the one he wanted to use me and the kids to land. Now he’s stuck here longer and swears he’s going to make me pay.”
Doc grunted. “If that son of a bitch comes near you or the kids, I’ll—”
“There’s more,” I interrupted, glancing back toward the stairs to make sure neither of my kids were eavesdropping. “He’s found a place to live.”
“It better not be across the street.”
“No, but this might be worse. He’s living in the apartment over Dominick Masterson’s garage.”
Doc stilled. “That’s an odd coincidence.”
“That’s what I figured.”
“What’s Masterson up to now?”
I’d been scratching my head about that all afternoon. “I’m thinking he’s trying to stack the deck in his favor.”
“Does he know the dynamics between you and Rex?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know.”
He sighed. “We need to neutralize Rex.”
“I agree. Let’s start with castration. I’ve got plenty of rubber bands. We can borrow scrotum clamps from Harvey. I think I saw some in his barn last time I was in there.”
Doc chuckled low in his chest. “I said ‘neutralize,’ not ‘sterilize.’ ”
“Oh well, can’t blame a girl for studying castration techniques while daydreaming about her piece of shit ex.”
I touched my bruised cheek, wincing under the pressure. I needed to undergo some more frozen-pea therapy.
“Listen, Doc, before we head upstairs there’s something else I need to shed some light on.”
“Is it going to make me want to borrow Harvey’s favorite shotgun?”
Unfortunately, Bessie wouldn’t be any help against Prudence’s wrath. “Actually, I was speaking literally. Can you turn the lights back on?”
“Sure. Shine the flashlight on the breaker box, will you?”
I lit it up. He hit the breaker switch. The fluorescent bulbs buzzed to life, not a single flicker at the moment.
Doc was still dressed in khaki pants and a blue dress shirt, but his tie was missing. His dark hair looked finger-mussed. That might be my fault for the cryptic texts I’d sent earlier.
“Now, what is it you—” He looked back at me and he stopped, his brow lining.
I pointed at my cheek. “I thought it would be better for you to see this before we headed topside.”
“Hell’s bells, Killer.” He cupped my face and turned my head. “It looks like Prudence won round one.”
“She throws one hell of an elbow, that’s for sure.”
“She didn’t make Cornelius clock you, did she?”
“No, this is my fault. I was pulling Zelda off of Cornelius and she fell on me elbow-first.”
“Oh, my poor girl.” He gently kissed my temple next to my bruised cheek. “We need to get some ice on that.”
“Come on, you two,” Aunt Zoe called down the steps. “Don’t make me send Harvey down there.”
“Okay, okay. We’re on our way.” I took Doc’s hand, leading him to the stairs.
The light flickered twice and then dimmed.
Doc hesitated, frowning up at the light. “I need to fix that before somebody ends up stuck down here in the dark.”
I tugged on him and started up the steps. “We still have Elvis’s nightlight if it stops working.”
“Did Addy tell you she’s taught her chicken how to turn the nightlight on and off?”
“No, but I’m not surprised. If Addy put her mind to it, she could probably teach that dang chicken to play chess.”
Upstairs, the circular table in the kitchen was set with the pot of chili in the center next to Aunt Zoe’s big cast iron pan full of golden cornbread. Harvey had finished setting the table after I left, including glasses of water along with a bucket full of ice and chilled bottles of beer.
Doc excused himself to go wash his hands.
I watched him go and then faced the peanut gallery sitting around the table, which consisted of Natalie, Reid, Aunt Zoe, and Harvey in that order from left to right. Bowls of chili steamed in front of each of them while squares of cornbread sat on small plates nearby.
“Did the kids already get their food?”
Natalie nodded, popping the top off a bottle of beer. “They’re eating and watching The Andy Griffith Show.”
“Dear Lord, baby girl,” Aunt Zoe said, a pained expression on her face as she looked up at me. “Did you go and spit in a wildcat’s eye again?” She held out her hand. “Come here and let me take a closer look at that shiner.”
I did as ordered, bending over my aunt, who was still dressed in the old denim work shirt and holey jeans she often wore out in her glass shop. Her silver-streaked hair was secured back in a braid tonight, but several tendrils had come loose. As she tipped my head toward the light, I smelled her glass furnace and a dose of the cinnamon air freshener she used out in her workshop.
Aunt Zoe whistled through her teeth. “Prudence had her tail up today, I take it.”
Somebody must have already told her about my visit to the Carhart house.
“Prudence doesn’t fight fair,” I grumbled.
“Ah, come on,” Harvey said with a smirk. “Prudence is as playful as a kitten most days.”
Natalie guffawed and then took a swallow of her beer. She was wearing a pink thermal shirt and stonewashed bib overalls that made her look closer to twenty than forty. I wasn’t sure if she’d gone home and changed clothes after our stakeout because she’d had her coat on the whole time in her pickup. Her face was scrubbed clean of makeup now and her hair pulled back in a ponytail. If she was trying to make herself look less attractive for Cooper’s sake when she told him they were going to have to hit the brakes on any more fun beneath the sheets, she was going about it all wrong. Curlers, an old ragged robe, and a mud mask would have been a better choice.
“What did you bring for dessert?” I asked Natalie, taking the empty seat on the other side
